A Few Stolen Moments
by Kanna37
Summary: A short glimpse along eternity's footpath in the Goddess' service.


**A Few Stolen Moments**

**~oOo~**

Like a rill of the finest spilled silk, hair like sunshine gleamed brightly in the dim, cool interior of the temple that Link found himself in upon waking. The last thing he remembered was falling asleep in some crumbled old ruin for a few hours - he'd needed a bit of rest before continuing on in his quest.

Most people in his situation would have brushed their current circumstances off as some kind of dream, but the hero did _not. _Wherever and even _whenever _this was, he was actually _there_.

As was the figure that stood before him, eyes like the dawn locked with his own deeper, wolf-blue gaze.

It was Hylia. The white goddess herself, goddess of time and the wellspring of it, as she had been before becoming Zelda. Pale azure and argent and golden, she was the most beautiful thing Link had ever seen. She always was, whether clothed in mortal flesh, or in the shimmering raiment of gods, it made no difference to him. _She's the most perfect thing in creation. If she hadn't already claimed my soul, I'd have dropped to my knees and offered it to her the moment I saw her. _

He sighed. _It was always inevitable that I would love her._

A brilliant smile illuminated her hauntingly lovely features. _"Be at ease, most beloved," _a silverine voice said into his mind, her smile widening as his eyes did, and then she spoke aloud, her voice sweet and musical, and somehow full of light. "I merely wished to share my strength with you, to ease your pain and soothe your disquiet."

"The physical pain is easy to ignore in your service, Your Grace," Link replied reverently, his eyes locked with hers, though they were shadowed. "But the fear in my mind I cannot conquer. I dread the day my task is fulfilled for this lifetime. To stand aside and watch you wed another will surely kill me."

The pain in those words broke Hylia's heart, though she would not burden him with that knowledge – he had enough burdens already. But this... _this_ pain she could alleviate, and she would. He deserved no less.

She slid one foot forward as her earlier smile softened and changed, and reached up to set a slender hand against his chest, just above his heart. He looked so weary, and he had every reason to, she knew. But she had never been able to bear seeing him in pain or turmoil, and that was why she had brought him to the Nexus of Time, where she – as _Hylia_ \- would always exist.

She would share these few stolen moments with him, and in the doing, would erase his worries and relieve him of the only fear he would never have the will to conquer – the loss of her. Her hand slid up from his chest, then, to lay against his cheek instead, her thumb sweeping lightly across the bone and through a shaggy sideburn.

"I chose you as my champion once upon a time, that much of our fable is indeed known to the world. But I also chose you as something else, Link - a detail the legends do _not_ remember."

The young, handsome man standing before her so raptly tilted his head at her in question, the air around him echoing with the power bleeding from her, and his body from the touch of her hand.

"And what was that, my goddess?" he asked, tone soft and deferential, yet so full of love. His eyes fell closed at her tender touch, and he tilted his head into it, almost nuzzling against her hand.

Her smile became dazzling again.

"My Eternal Consort. Whether mortal or immortal, I shall have none but you, my love. It is my divine decree, and none can abrogate it."

Slender, gentle fingers swept aside his always messy bangs as his eyes opened again, and he beamed at her. Leaning in, the goddess brushed a tender kiss to the flesh momentarily revealed.

"Take my words with you and allow them to give you surcease. When the task seems overwhelming and the light fully fallen to the darkness, remember that I am waiting for you at the end of it all, and draw strength from the knowledge," she breathed against his skin. "But even as I await you at the end of your task, I am also with you always. You are ever within my embrace, my love."

"There is no other place I could ever wish to be, Your Grace," Link whispered in response.

"Then return to your rest, my hero, that we will all the sooner be reunited," she said softly, and Link's eyes fell slowly closed once more at her command. The last thing he saw of her was that same hair of sunlight winking brightly at him. Then his awareness faded out, and he was drawn down into a gentle, warm darkness that enfolded him in tender arms, and cradled him while he slept.

A/N: This is my own personal headcanon here, and I won't apologize for it. Also, the Nexus of Time/Hylia thing – that's my own personal _creation_, and I won't apologize for that, either. It's actually a part of a larger storyline for LoZ, one I am slowly working on. So if this kind of thing starts cropping up in a lot of other people's stories, know that it came from _my _Zelda-worldmadness – _mine!_ \- not anyone elses. Author out.


End file.
